Answer = Yes ... Yes, 8 GB is a worthwhile investment for a 64-bit OS
Answer = No ... No, 8 GB is a complete waste of money for a 32-bit OS as you won't even be able to use 4 GB (unless you have an OS which supports PAE; Windows doesn't)

Answer = Yes ... Yes, 8 GB is a worthwhile investment for a 64-bit OS
Answer = No ... No, 8 GB is a complete waste of money for a 32-bit OS as you won't even be able to use 4 GB (unless you have an OS which supports PAE; Windows doesn't)

Nothing wrong with the price, that's for sure. But what do you run that's going to use 8GB? There are a couple of games out there that can benefit from having 4GB, but even that's still not the norm. And you'd have to be an insanely compulsive multi-tasker to need that much memory.

Nothing wrong with the price, that's for sure. But what do you run that's going to use 8GB? There are a couple of games out there that can benefit from having 4GB, but even that's still not the norm. And you'd have to be an insanely compulsive multi-tasker to need that much memory.

If you don't use more than 4 GB of RAM, the extra RAM will basically be deadweight. On the other hand, a good 4GB kit of RAM is probably going to cost more than $150. The CAS 4 stuff still tends to run over $200, and the performance increase is honestly pretty small in real-world applications.

Under the circumstances, I might suggest buying 8 GB, and then seeing how much headroom the first set has. It's CAS 5 at 1.8 V, so cranking it up to 2.0-2.1 might let you drop it to CAS 4. Case in point: My own memory is spec'd at 5-5-5-18, but it's presently running 4-4-4-10 with 2.0 V. You don't get a warranty, but if it fails, you've still got 4 GB that you can play it safe with.

Number 2. Better latencies at less voltage? Almost certainly better chips in those Mushkin's, probably with some headroom to play with, if you're so inclined. It'll be quite some time before 4 GB isn't enough for a regular desktop. I'm a chronic parts collector myself, but I honestly don't see the need for 8 GB of RAM, unless I was planning on another cheap build up in the near future.